Montreal is the laughing stock of North America when it comes to infrastructure management. Specifically, a legacy of corruption, short-sighted planning, and the sheer incompetence of its political leadership have hobbled one of the largest cities on the continent when it comes to managing traffic and attracting international investment. To this we can now add the hubris of newly-elected Montreal mayor Valerie Plante and Plateau-Mont-Royal borough mayor Luc Ferrandez in deciding to close Mount Royal to automobile traffic in the spring of 2018.

It appears as though my pining for top-down weather was premature, as we have been walloped by rain for the last 5 days straight. Depressing, but productive from a writing perspective, and it has helped me keep my ear to the ground and find some interesting subjects for this week’s five thoughts about the auto industry. Let’s take a look at some of the more interesting stories from the automotive biz over the past week.

The week has flown by, and the warmer rains have taken away almost all of the remaining snow in my neck of the woods. I am looking forward to some top-down motoring in the coming months, but in the meantime, here are five stories from the automotive industry that caught my eye over the course of the last seven days.

About

Benjamin Hunting is a freelance writer who enjoys reading, writing, and keeping the shiny side up during track days. He is also an avid musician and a friend to vinyl. He is available for your freelance writing projects.